Online musical instrument marketplace Reverb has teamed up with legendary jazz guitarist George Benson to sell his collection of rare studio and tour-worn guitars on his very own Reverb shop, which launches on October 16.
Among his sizeable collection, guitar enthusiasts and collectors can nab his Gibson Johnny Smith, which was played on the 1976 chart-topping album Breezin'.
“Today I'm going to feature some of my babies. I call them my babies because they've been with me a long time. So it's kind of tough for me [to] talk about giving them up, but that's what this is all about,” Benson tells Reverb. “I want to pass that good fortune that these guitars brought me down to others.”
Benson is parting with several guitars that played a big role in his career, such as the Ibanez GB10, which has served as Benson's workhorse guitar over the last decade and is the only GB10 he plays on stage, and his original 1980 D'Aquisto, built by master luthier Jimmy D'Aquisto.
Other guitars in the collection include an Ibanez 30th-Anniversary GB Kimono Inlay – which Benson played on Norman Brown’s single Nuthin’ But a Party; a Gibson L5 Wes Montgomery – complete with a real tortoise shell pickguard; and an Ibanez GB 45th SSR – the original prototype of Ibanez's 45th-anniversary guitar and kitted with a GB-exclusive designed adjustable tailpiece.
As Benson puts it, “Everything begins with one. “I learned this from a great guitar player named Tal Farlow [esteemed jazz guitarist]. He said, ‘George, when you make a record, make sure you have a great microphone, because after that, it's too late. You want your idea to get off the ground.’ Start with number one, a great microphone, in this case, a great guitar.”
“Now it's time for someone else to benefit [from] all those years I put in on these instruments. They came in my life at different times, but they all had meaning.”
In recent George Benson news, the jazz guitarist announced Breezin’ with the Stars – a four-day ‘stay and play’ event with performances from the likes of Steve Lukather, Esperanza Spalding, and Lee Ritenour, which is taking place in January 2025.
For more information about the collection, head to Reverb.
